The M6 group confirmed Monday evening to AFP that it would merge with TF1 to form a television giant.
"M6 and TF1 merge and the Bouygues group becomes the majority shareholder of the new entity with 30% of the shares, ahead of RTL Group," M6 said, confirming information from Figaro.
French television TF1 will buy 30% of its competitor M6 from German Bertelsmann, information from
Figaro
confirmed Monday evening by M6.
"M6 and TF1 merge and the Bouygues group becomes the majority shareholder of the new entity with 30% of the shares, ahead of RTL Group", a subsidiary of the German Bertelsmann currently the main shareholder, while the current boss of M6, Nicolas de Tavernost, will become CEO of the future group, said the chain.
According to the daily, which does not identify a source and does not give an amount for the transaction, the negotiations between Bouygues, the parent company of TF1, and the M6 group were successful last weekend.
Strong regulatory constraints
Bertelsmann, which so far holds 48.3% of the capital of the M6 group through its subsidiary RTL Group, declared itself a seller at the start of the year, and TF1's offer seemed to hold the line against its competitors. This acquisition process will nevertheless be subject to strong regulatory constraints on media concentration. Indeed, only seven authorizations to broadcast on the hertzian waves can be granted to the same television group.
According to experts, the decisive point will be the green light from the anti-trust authorities. The marriage of the first and third PAF channels will indeed lead to the emergence of a giant television player exceeding France TV with more than 30% of audience share, and representing three quarters of the advertising market on the media. Finally, from a stock market point of view, the law prevents a shareholder from owning more than 49% of a television group. According to a media observer, the implementation of such an acquisition could take from 18 months to two years.